Doug Van Meter - 13 August 2023
God, Do It Again (Psalm 126:1–6)
William Carey famously said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Because he believed God is very great (Psalm 104:1), he attempted for God what God expected of him. And great things happened! Psalm 126 carries a similar theme and one that, in our days, we may particularly need to be reminded of. That is, God can again do great things in a church, in a life, in a nation, all for his glory. In these six verses we are encouraged to not be forgetful (vv. 1–3) and to be faithful (vv. 4–5a, 6a), with confidence that we will be fruitful (vv. 5b, 6b).
Scripture References: Psalms 126:1-6
From Series: "Miscellaneous"
Sermons in this series are once-off sermons preached by various church members.
Powered by Series Engine
I had the privilege of growing up in the same local church, the First Baptist Church of Milford, Ohio in the United States. I was three years old when my parents became members of that church and I had the same pastor for the first nearly thirty years of my life. (He pastored that church for 35 years.) When my parents joined the church, there were about 100 people in attendance. This would grow to an average of 1,000 per week and the church would go through numerous building programs to house the growing group of believers. We would use the local primary school for Sunday school, adjacent parking lots of businesses on Sunday mornings, and would purchase neighbouring houses where various ministries would take place, including a Christian school and a Bible publishing ministry called Bearing Precious Seed.
Eventually, our church purchased fifty acres of land in what was then considered the country, something like a small platteland. We would build a 1,500 seater auditorium, a school building, a two-story Sunday school building, and a massive print shop. It took three years of labour from church members to build the church facility as the congregation was committed to building debt-free.
In early February 1985, we had our last service in our original location before moving into our new building. Don Melton, the youth pastor, was asked to close the service in prayer. After thanking the Lord for many years of faithfulness to his people, I can still hear Don’s plea as we headed into the next chapter of church life: “Do it again, God; please, do it again!” And God did do it again, in many ways.
In the years that followed, many people would be saved and baptised, some of whom I saw again while I was there recently. Families would raise their children for Christ. Many more missionaries would be sent out from the church, with millions of dollars funding them. The Bible publishing ministry has now printed somewhere in the vicinity of 300 million New Testaments, Scripture portions (John and Romans), and whole Bibles, in many different languages. Yes, the Lord God did it again. He again and again bestowed his favour upon his people, including when things were looking dismal. “God, do it again!” is the theme of Psalm 126.
As we consider this psalm, I want to nourish our faith and expand our horizons as we contemplate three major truths that outline this chapter.
- Don’t Be Forgetful (vv. 1–3)
- Do Be Faithful (vv. 4–5a, 6a)
- We will be Fruitful (vv. 5b, 6b)
Don’t Be Forgetful
First, the writer of this psalm exhorts his readers to not be forgetful:
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
(Psalm 126:1–3)
Psalm 126 is one of the psalms of ascent (121–135), which were traditionally sung as Jewish pilgrims made their way to the appointed feasts in Jerusalem. Like most of these psalms, authorship is as unknown as is the background. However, there are clues in the psalms, which help us to fill in the blanks.
Many are convinced that the psalms of ascent were either written by or at the least compiled by King Hezekiah. It is interesting that, when Hezekiah was dying of the illness with which he was afflicted, the Lord heard his prayers and extended his life by fifteen years. There are fifteen psalms of ascent to match those years, as the argument goes. I don’t know if this is the case, but the internal evidence of Psalm 126 may point to a historical event during Hezekiah’s reign as recorded in 2 Kings 18–20 and Isaiah 36–38.
The Assyrian army had invaded Judah and surrounded Jerusalem. Assyria was the reigning Empire at that point in history. They therefore expected the nations over which they rule to pay tribute and for the existing king to abdicate to an Assyrian appointed puppet ruler. Hezekiah agreed to pay tribute, but would not abdicate. This stirred the ire of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, so he sent three government officials, who brought word of military threat: Sennacherib’s army was coming and would surround and overthrow Jerusalem. He had a track record of doing this with other nations. Assyria’s gods were greater than Yahweh. Jerusalem, the city of Yahweh had no chance against Assyria. They should surrender, or else. Hezekiah chose “else.” He chose to pray and to send for God’s prophet, Isaiah.
Over several days, perhaps months, the plot thickened as the threat increased. Things were looking dire. Judah was indeed in trouble and, from a merely human perspective, its defeat was inevitable. A contemporary parallel would be the armed forces of the United States threatening to invade South Africa with warships off the coasts of Durban and Cape Town, the skies overhead filled with F16 and stealth fighter jets, and well-armed soldiers on the march to Pretoria. That may give you some kind of idea of the situation Hezekiah and his people were facing. Only a miraculous intervention would save them. But God would, indeed, save them.
The Lord mysteriously killed the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers surrounding Jerusalem. He turned the captivity of his people once again; he restored their fortunes. God did it, again. And Israel was not to forget it.
Now, it may be that the background was some other captivity through which the Lord restored the fortunes of his people. Perhaps it was the Babylonian captivity. Regardless, whatever the precise historical circumstance, Psalm 126 reveals a people struggling against some difficulty, which required great faith to persevere, which explains the references to “tears” (v. 5) and “weeping” (v. 6), as well as the plea for the Lord to “restore our fortunes” (v. 4). This phrase (see also v. 1) means “to reverse misfortune or disaster.” The people of God were surrounded by some kind of disaster, and the first thing they did was to remember God’s previous deliverance.
They Were to Remember a Great Redemption
The principle point of the psalm is that the Lord had previously wrought a great deliverance, which his people were to remember, as with every other deliverance. God’s people must not forget what God had done for them. They needed, not a nostalgic memory in which hard things are forgotten, but an honest memory of God doing a wonderful thing amid some hard things. “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream” (v. 1).
In the future, when faced with difficulties, they were to remember past deliverances. In fact, forgetfulness is often the first step to spiritual failure (see 2 Peter 1:12–15).
Among the things that God’s people were not to forget was God’s great rescue when he performed Israel’s amazing deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Year after year, decade after decade, and century after century, the burden on the back of the children of Israel grew heavier to bear. Finally, four hundred plus years after Israel settled in the land of Egypt, the promise, which the Sovereign Lord had given to Abraham (Genesis 15:12–16) was about to be fulfilled.
One night, as the cries of bereavement at the death of firstborn sons filled the land, Pharoah sent for Moses and told him to lead his people away from Egypt. The people, having been prepared (Exodus 12) departed from Egypt (Exodus 13–14). They were soon confronted by a huge body of water before them, a wilderness on either side, and an approaching Egyptian army behind. They panicked in unbelief (14:10–12), having forgotten all the Lord has done for them, all the promises he has fulfilled to them, and all the power he had displayed before them. But Moses was told to lift his rod and Israel’s deliverance was sealed as the Red Sea destroyed her enemies. It must have been like a dream come true, and they responded with the giddy and yet profound laughter of relief and confidence. Indeed, as the KJV translates, the Lord had turned, again, their captivity. When the Egyptian army was coming close, they had forgotten all the Lord had done—how he had rescued Abraham and Sarah from Abimelech; how he had rescued (conniving) Jacob from his (conniving) Uncle Laban; how he had rescued Jacob and his twelve sons from famine; how he had multiplied their nation despite the murderous decree of Pharoah—and so they moaned and complained and criticised and were despondent and were ready to quit on God and all he had promised for their future. But then, God! God restored their fortunes; he rescued them from otherwise certain (and deserved) disaster. They were delivered. They were redeemed. They could hardly believe it but it was true. And the laughter and shouts of joy that punctured the coasts of the Red Sea evidenced the grace and mercy of God to them. Israel was never to forget this.
The feasts, including Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, afforded the people opportunity to gather the family and rehearse the story. The written record read by priests served as a reminder of their redemption. The singing of psalms was to serve as a musical reminder of God’s great deliverance. This memory was important, for it sent the message that, if God could do that, he could do this, whatever “this” hardship was.
Brothers and sisters, through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ we have experienced a greater redemption than did Israel. Our fortunes were miserable as we were under the wrath of almighty, holy God. We were enslaved, not to a mere nation but, worse, to sin, to self, and to Satan. And God, by his grace, lifted, not a rod, but rather his Son on a cross and had him crucified in our place. God’s Lamb shed his blood under the condemnation and wrath of God as our substitute. And when we realised this, when we believed and experienced forgiveness of our sins and were reconciled to God we could hardly believe it! It was like a delightful dream and our mouth was filled with laughter in the face of threats and our tongues shouted for joy despite whatever difficulties we faced. Do you remember?
Do you remember your redemption? Do you remember when the Lord saved you from your sin? Do you remember the wondrous change he brought about? Do you remember the guilt being lifted and your heart set free? Do you remember the experience of God’s power delivering you from sinful habits and hatreds?
If so, then whatever difficulty you are facing today, ask the Lord for his gospel power to sustain you, to reorient your perspective, and to revive your hope and joy and, yes, your laughter.
When we refuse to forget, when we steward the memories of God’s saving grace, then we are positioned to believe him for whatever misfortune we face today. When we can say, “It is well with my soul” salvifically, we can say, “It is well with my soul” situationally (see Romans 8:32).
There is a difference between nostalgia and the kind of remembrance I am speaking of here. Nostalgia is remembering the pleasant while filtering out the unpleasant. When I recently ran the streets of my hometown, I enjoyed nostalgic memories of going to the nursery school down the street from house with Mrs. Summers. But my mom will fill in the blanks of how terrified I was to walk those couple hundred metres because of the possibility of dogs barking at me. I had nostalgic memories of playing little league baseball and pee-wee football. But I can conveniently forget the times I struck out, or dropped a fly ball, letting down the team, or getting run over by a not-so-pee-wee fullback! So it is when it comes to our salvation. Later in Israel’s history, she would nostalgically remember the leeks, and garlics, and onions and how wonderful slavery was! Many, perhaps, would nostalgically remember how they boldly and bravely stood at the Red Sea fully confident the Lord would deliver them! But what they needed to remember was that, despite their faith failures, God did the exceptional. When God saved us, there was usually a price to be paid: lost friendships, tense relationships in the home, ostracisation at work, etc. We should not forget all we gained in Christ, even while we remember the cost. Our greatest misfortune was “restored” for our good and for God’s glory.
They Were to Remember a Great Rejoicing
We have touched on this already but note the joy they experienced when delivered: “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy” (v. 2a). I think they were to remember as a stimulus to ask God to give this joy once again. Again, not through some sentimental and less-than-honest nostalgia but through a soul-appreciation for what God did for them by his grace.
When we have sinned, we should remember the joy we once had and, like David, pray, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).
I recently supplied a prayer request for our Sunday evening prayer service to the effect that BBC will appreciate afresh the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). I believe that such refreshment goes a long way to strengthening our joy, even (especially?) in the face of discouragements, disappointments, and depravities. South Africa has plenty of these. At the risk of sounding simplistic, when we forget, we will be tempted to flee. When we forget the power of the gospel in our own lives, we will despair of the power of the gospel in others’ lives.
I walked by an unemployed and possibly homeless man sitting on the curb recently, and thought, “This man is made in the image of God. He can be saved. He might be saved.” God is still saving the otherwise hopeless in our society. But if we do not believe this, if we forget our great redemption, we become obsessed with what we think is greener grass on the other side. We might find, in the words of Erma Bombeck, that the grass is always greener over the septic tank. Beware, by believing.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember our great redemption and ask the Lord to restore our joy we once had. The gospel has not changed. The problem lies with us.
They Were to Remember a Great Result
The rejoicing continues: “Then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad” (v. 2–3). “We are glad” indicates the happiness they experienced as God was exalted before those witnessing God’s remarkable deliverance.
As you read parts of the Pentateuch, particularly Deuteronomy, it is clear that God’s mission for the nation of Israel was to so live before the peoples they encountered that they would be impressed with the glory and greatness of Yahweh (e.g. Deuteronomy 4:5–8).
The story of Rahab is a case in point. Having seen the redemptive and punitive power of God, she repented and was converted to follow Yahweh (Joshua 2:8ff). Those who know their Bibles will be glad because Rahab was a Gentile and, in her salvation, we see the grace and power of the gospel.
The point is that God’s redemption of Israel resulted in God’s glory being spread among the nations. His deliverance of Israel gave grounds for Israel to boast in her God. As his deliverance of us through Jesus Christ does in our lives.
Do you remember when the Lord saved you that your family was affected? In some cases, family members opposed you and yet, in others, they were drawn to the wonderful change wrought in your life. In some cases, husbands came to faith as they observed the profound gospel-empowered change in his wife. Wives likewise were converted, and children, and often parents. In many cases, friends were powerfully effected by God’s redemption of your life and even enemies were converted.
For some, your homes were profoundly changed as sinful behaviours were transformed into righteous behaviours. Drunkenness was replaced with sobriety, and abuse was replaced with tender care. I well remember witnessing a converted man washing his wife’s feet on their 35th wedding anniversary as a testimony to his changed life by the power of Jesus Christ and his gospel.
What I want to help us to see is that, when we face challenges, very serious troubles, and are tempted to despair, we must remember our great redemption and its powerful God-glorifying consequences. As we remember, our resolve to persevere will be emboldened, as will our hope.
And remember, a great redemption gives us hope for subsequent redemptions (Romans 8:32).
Do Be Faithful
The psalmist next urges us to be faithful to the Lord: “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (vv. 4–6).
One reason I believe that Psalm 126 refers to the Assyrian threat to Jerusalem is because of the word picture in the second half of the psalm. Here we have an image of someone sowing seed and weeping as they do so. Why would a farmer cry as he throws seed into the ground? Because he has had to make a choice: crush the grains he has for food for himself, and for his family, or plant the seed hoping (perhaps against hope) that he will secure a greater harvest to ward off greater future hunger. But why would this be the case? Perhaps because the barns are empty. This takes us to 2 Kings 19:29–31:
And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD will do this.
(2 Kings 19:29–31)
Hezekiah had sent word to Isaiah seeking a message from God concerning the threats against Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah responded with the encouraging revelation that God would turn their captivity and destroy the Assyrian army. As a proof of this—or rather, as a proof of the faith of God’s people in this prophetic word—the people were commanded to eat what they had and only after two years to plant seed for a harvest. This means they would live for two years from their storehouses without any immediate preparation for the future.
This prophecy had an immediate application as well as a future fulfilment. Oswalt explains:
While three actual calendar years are intended, only about fourteen to fifteen months would be covered…. The prediction was made in the fall, as “this year” in which the accidental growth was being eaten was drawing to a close…. The deliverance would not come in time for the fall planting to be done, meaning that only what came up from the roots of previous plants would be available during the next year. But by the following fall, when the third calendar year was beginning, normal life could resume, for the Assyrians would be gone.
Others have suggested that this refers to two subsequent sabbatical years that they were to observe (a year of Jubilee on the heels of a regular sabbatical year).
Regardless, faith would be required. The people were to demonstrate their faith in Yahweh, trusting him to care for them during a time of provisional challenge. To let the land rest, either because of the enemy keeping them from their fields or by sabbatical self-restraint would require faith, daily being aware that the food in the barn was diminishing without any hope of it being replenished by that year’s harvest. And then to do that for a second consecutive year! Then, in the third year, whatever grain/seed was still in the pantry was to be buried in the ground rather than made into meal. That would require faith. No wonder there were tears and weeping as they sowed the very precious seed.
Each handful of seed thrown into the furrows was one less handful of grain from which bread could come for food. Hence, there was desperate weeping—desperately hoping for a harvest, desperately hoping for God to send the rains to nourish the seed, desperately hoping that God would protect the land and seed from pestilence, desperately trusting that God would give life to the seed and bring it to full ear as it were.
Further, we can say that this would be dependent weeping. The one sowing the seed, realising that only God can give the harvest, would humbly look to the Lord, which means that this would be what we might call devoted weeping. The obedient individual would crying out to God and ask, “Please God, do it again!” “Please God, give us a harvest and fill our pantry again!” “Please God, I am clinging to the precious seed of your word as I plant this precious seed in the ground. Please, keep your promise filling my mouth with laughter, again; causing my tongue to shout for joy, again; exalting you before the watching peoples, again; making us glad again.”
Brothers and sisters, not only must we remember God’s past great redemption but, in the present, we need to keep believing his promise of redemption, his promise of provision, his promise of sustenance, his promise that his name will be exalted among the nations through us. Just as Abraham believed in hope against hope (Romans 4:18), so we are to exercise similar faith. We are to be faithful, which is fuelled by not being forgetful (Romans 8:32).
With trust in God who commands us, keep on loving even when you are rejected. With faith in God who commands us, keep on giving even when the economy is dismal. With faith in God who commands us, keep forgiving those offending you. With faith in God who commands, keep preaching the gospel to your unsaved friends and family. With faith in God who commands, keep serving despite apparent fruitlessness. With faith in God who commands, keep practicing meaningful church membership, ministering to one another. With faith in God who commands, keep making disciples despite the apparent chaos in the country. With faith in God who commands, keep seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness in a society that is consumed with being comfortable, and often hell-bent on trying to find that comfort through emigration.
I mention this last point because the reality is that most of us cannot afford to emigrate. Most will not have the opportunity to do so. We are forced to stay put. Let us therefore cry out to God, “Restore our fortunes, O Lord!” “O Lord, glorify yourself in South Africa. O Lord, do great things here through your gospel for your people that others will say, ‘The Lord has done great things for them!’”
You Will Be Fruitful
Finally, the psalmist concludes with a promise of fruitfulness. He speaks of “reap[ing] with shouts of joy” (v. 5) and of “bring[ing] his sheaves with him” (v. 6),
As we remember to not forget, faithfully obeying God’s word, we can expect to be fruitful. We can expect a harvest from God. Honouring our God will result in a harvest from God. Faithfulness will be rewarded with fruitfulness.
Now, don’t hear that in prosperity gospel terms. There is no promise that following the Lord will make you rich, or that he will keep you from persecution, or that faithfulness will keep you physically and mentally healthy. What the Bible does teach, as seen here, is that, as we faithfully persevere in loving and obeying God, we can expect God to do great things—again. We can expect God to retore our fortunes—again. We can expect God to turn again our captivity.
For example, we can expect God to answer biblical prayers—so keep praying. We can expect God to save souls—so keep on preaching. We can expect God to raise the dead—so keep on running the race, amid your bereavement, amid your chronic illness. We can expect God to be our fulfilment—so keep on in your pursuit of him. We can expect God to build his church—so keep on serving; keep on planting. We can expect God to exalt his name among the nations—so keep on sending. We can expect God to save households—so keep on discipling your children. We can expect God to meet our needs—so keep on giving. We can expect God to provide for our families, to provide for our church, to rule our nation—so stop fearing. We can expect God to bring his Kingdom to completion—so keep making disciples and stop being freaked out by social media and feature films (including Christian ones).
I have produced this study with an agenda. My agenda is to encourage our church to trust God, with a biblically informed faith that God can restore our fortunes. God can do wonderful things—again—in our church, in our lives, in our families, in our nation. Let us therefore practice a faith that perseveres as it prays, “God, do it again!”
AMEN